1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system, method and program for making it possible to make use of a portable terminal such as a portable telephone set, which has been spread widely and is usually carried by a user, to automatically configure a computer suitably for a particular user.
2. Description of the Related Art
Taking it into consideration that a PC card slot is provided in many information terminals such as personal computers, it has been proposed to use a PC card as a configuration device for an information terminal, for example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 296635/1999. The PC card includes a memory in which configuration information for an information terminal is stored, and a control section for controlling reading out from and writing into the memory and executing, when the PC card is inserted into a PC card slot of an information terminal, configuration of the information terminal based on the configuration information stored in the memory.
As computers have been spread widely in companies, homes and so forth, it is often the case that a person uses several computers totally in a company and at home in its daily life. Usually, configuration of a computer need be performed for each computer. For example, in order for each individual to set the desk top screen of a computer in a company and customize the desk top screen of a computer at home, the individual must configure the computers separately. Further, where the same computer is used commonly by a plurality of users, each user must perform configuration for the user itself upon logon.
While the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 296635/1999 is directed to use of a PC card for execution of such configuration, it has the following problems.
The first problem resides in inconvenience in that the PC card can be used only with a computer or a like apparatus which has a PC card slot and therefore cannot be used in a similar manner for configuration of all computers which may be used by the user.
The second problem resides in that, when the user goes out and wants to use a computer or the like at the destination, the PC card which is not carried usually must be carried.
Incidentally, portable telephone sets and portable information terminals (hereinafter referred to collectively as portable terminals) have been and are being spread quickly, and under the existing conditions, a person possesses at least one portable terminal.